Oakville, Canada: Computer chip creates headache for Ford

OAKVILLE - Full production won't resume until next week at Ford of Canada's giant Oakville Assembly Plant following discovery of a safety system defect in the 2001 model year Ford Windstar.

The factory's assembly lines ground to a halt Aug. 31 when a faulty computer module started deploying the minivan's airbag and locking its seatbelts without warning.

Limited production started again Wednesday, but only 600 of the popular family vehicles are being assembled per day, as opposed to the usual 1,500 - and those are being stored in emergency parking lots until replacement parts arrive.

The first shipments of the re-programmed chips are expected to arrive this weekend.

Aside from leaving a new bruise on Ford's already battered public image in the wake of the Bridgestone/Firestone tire recall, the safety system malfunction raises questions about the degree to which computer chips are being given control of modern vehicles.

''In a sense, cars today are getting to be like fighter aircraft, where the pilots just can't fly them without the computers,'' said Greg Shaw, researcher at the Automobile Safety Lab at the University of Virginia. ''They've unquestionably made vehicles safer, they have really made a difference.''

Modern vehicles employ computer chips to control everything from the rate at which fuel is fed into the engine to the tension of the seatbelt, to trigger the airbag in case of an accident and to keep the brakes from locking when they're slammed on.

They've proven to be a highly reliable way of replacing sometimes flawed human judgement with computerized precision, Shaw said, adding ''I don't think we'll ever retreat from this level of computer control.''

Stew Low, spokesman for General Motors of Canada, agrees.

''It's very rare that a problem like this happens because electronics has come so far,'' he said. ''It's a very robust system that's designed to work in all kinds of conditions.''

Ray Marchand, manager of traffic safety and training for the Canada Safety Council, is slightly less enthusiastic.

''The level of technology we use today has really contributed to a reduction in vehicle fatalities, but we'll never be able to replace the judgement of a good driver,'' he said.

Marchand also worries that as automotive software becomes more sophisticated, and the demands on it increase, the chance for error also rises.

''I'd worry if we were to completely rely on technology,'' he said. ''It's important for these systems to have the right kind of backups so that if the primary system fails you still have control of the vehicle.''

About 15,000 Windstars will have to be retrofitted, including some which have already reached dealer lots.

The problem will likely mean a delayed launch of the new model year for the vehicle - traditionally the first week of October.

http://www.thestar.com/editorial/updates/news/10923.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), September 08, 2000

Answers

''They've unquestionably made vehicles safer, they have really made a difference.''

Not so. The more sophisticated electronics in newer vehicles have contributed to far more automobile fires than ever before, especially for Chrysler, in both Canada and US. ABS problems have risen dramatically. Check CBC Ottawa news archives for a special they did on this very topic.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), September 08, 2000.